Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

Campaigners are calling for tougher punishments for dog fighting and the details of people banned from keeping the animals to be kept on a national register.

The League Against Cruel Sports says its investigations revealed that dogs are being trained to fight daily, with banned breeds being sold in order to supply the high demand for "status and fighting dogs".

It is further calling for an urgent review of the Dangerous Dogs Act, arguing that its breed specific legislation is flawed.

The charity will launch its report, Project Bloodline, in Parliament today as part of its campaign to end dog fighting in the UK.

Eduardo Goncalves, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "If anyone thinks dog fighting is a thing of the past, then sadly they are wrong. Last year we commissioned a groundbreaking academic report which said that a dog fight was taking place every day in the UK.

"This year we've taken to the streets to find out exactly what was happening, and the results are frightening.

"Dogs are being bred and sold specifically for fighting, pet animals are being used to provide a steady supply of torture victims for cruel training exercises where they are tethered down or used as dangling 'bait' for dogs being trained to fight for 'fun' - the cruelty behind this underground world is endless and it's happening right under our noses.

We want appropriate penalties to be introduced, and for appropriate action to be taken against perpetrators. Dog fighting is barbaric and we cannot allow it to be part of a modern Britain.Eduardo Goncalves

"We want appropriate penalties to be introduced, and for appropriate action to be taken against perpetrators. Dog fighting is barbaric and we cannot allow it to be part of a modern Britain."

Project Bloodline was a six month investigation designed to understand why, when and where dog fighting occurs.

The league says that working with 60 partners it uncovered evidence which suggested brutal training methods were injuring animals before fights even took place, and that a feral cat colony was being kept as "bait".

It is asking for legislation to be clarified and strengthened, calling for a minimum three year custodial sentence for convicted dog fighters.

Speaking this morning on BBC 4 Today Programme, Eduardo Goncalves added that the investigation had been “difficult” because of the “clandestine nature of the crime” and also the “distressing nature of the injuries”.

He said: “We were filming one dog a few days ago and she was very frightened of the camera tripod because it was similar to some of the instruments that had been used to torture her.

“She had been electrocuted; there was evidence of burns; she had been head slammed – that’s a procedure where they are ramming the dog’s head into a wall to break bones and make it tougher and more aggressive.”

Mr Goncalves told the BBC there had been an “evolution” in the type of dog fighting being seen.

He said: “There’s still some of the isolated, rural barn type of dog fighting. We have international criminal syndicates; there’s betting money; there’s animals being smuggled in from the Middle East and then there’s this more urban style of dog fighting which we found is steadily on the increase – it’s in car parks, abandoned pubs – and that’s happening in towns and cities across the UK virtually every day.”

Animal fighting, including dog fighting, is currently banned in the UK under the Animal Welfare Act, with a maximum sentence of 51 weeks in prison. People can also be fined or banned from owning pets under the act.